How effective are soil conservation techniques in reducing plot runoff and soil loss in Europe and the Mediterranean?

The effects of soil and water conservation techniques (SWCTs) on annual runoff (R a), runoff coefficients (RC a) and annual soil loss (SL a) at the plot scale have been extensively tested on field runoff plots in Europe and the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, a comprehensive overview of these effects and the factors controlling the effectiveness of SWCTs is lacking. Especially the effectiveness of SWCT in reducing R a is poorly understood. Therefore, an extensive literature review is presented that compiles the results of 101 earlier studies. In each of these studies, R a and SL a was measured on field runoff plots where various SWCTs were tested. In total, 353 runoff plots (corresponding to 2093 plot-years of data) for 103 plot-measuring stations throughout Europe and the Mediterranean were considered. SWCTs include (1) crop and vegetation management (i.e. cover crops, mulching, grass buffer strips, strip cropping and exclosure), (2) soil management (i.e. no-tillage, reduced tillage, contour tillage, deep tillage, drainage and soil amendment) and (3) mechanical methods (i.e. terraces, contour bunds and geotextiles). Comparison of the frequency distributions of SL a rates on cropland without and with the application of SWCTs shows that the exceedance probability of tolerable SL a rates is ca. 20% lower when SWCT are applied. However, no notable effect of SWCTs on the frequency distribution of RC a is observed. For 224 runoff plots (corresponding to 1567 plot-year data), SWCT effectiveness in reducing R a and/or SL a could be directly calculated by comparing measured R a and/or SL a with values measured on a reference plot with conventional management. Crop and vegetation management techniques (i.e. buffer strips, mulching and cover crops) and mechanical techniques (i.e. geotextiles, contour bunds and terraces) are generally more effective than soil management techniques (i.e. no-tillage, reduced tillage and contour tillage). Despite being generally less effective, no-tillage, reduced tillage and contour tillage have received substantially more attention in the literature than the other SWCTs. Soil and water conservation techniques are generally less effective in reducing R a than in reducing SL a, which is an important consideration in areas where water is a key resource and in regions susceptible to flooding. Furthermore, all SWCTs show a more consistent and effective reduction of both R a and SL a with increasing R a and SL a magnitude, which is attributed to the reduced influence of measurement uncertainties. Although some significantly negative correlations between SWCT effectiveness and plot slope length, slope gradient or annual precipitation were found, the importance of these factors in explaining the observed variability in effectiveness seems limited. Time-series analyses of R a during multiple years of SWCT application strongly indicate that no-tillage and conservation tillage become less effective in reducing R a over time. Such an effect is not observed for SL a. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.